Former political wiretapping figure sentenced to 6 years for judicial bribery

Christos Mavrikis, a former figure in a high-profile political wiretapping scandal of the early 1990s, was sentenced Monday to six years in prison and fined 20,000 euros for attempting to bribe a judge, court officials said.

The Three-Member Court of Appeals for Felonies rejected a request to suspend the sentence, ordering Mavrikis to return to prison immediately.

During his defense, Mavrikis denied the charge, saying the 1 million euros referenced in a letter to Panagiotis Lymperopoulos, vice president of Greece’s Supreme Court (Areios Pagos), was intended as a brokerage fee rather than a bribe. “It’s so pure in my mind that I never even considered bribing anyone,” he told the court.

Mavrikis argued that his legal efforts concerned a property dispute over land claimed by a private individual and that he simply sought judicial review. “This is our fifth attempt. What I want is for the case to be examined on its merits,” he said.

Lymperopoulos testified that Mavrikis had called him to deliver a file on the case, which he handed over in person at the judge’s office. The vice president said Mavrikis’s letter requested judicial intervention in the pending matter while promising some form of compensation, describing it as a clearly illegal act.

The court accepted the prosecution’s argument that referencing a financial exchange along with a request for judicial intervention constitutes the criminal offense of judicial bribery, resulting in Mavrikis’ conviction.